Gabon's voters waited on Monday for the first results of an election for a successor to long-time leader Omar Bongo, with the late president's son tipped for power in the central African oil-producing state.
Ali Ben Bongo, defense minister in his father's government, has said he believes he will win, but state television's election coverage suggested former Interior Minister Andre Mba Obame was doing well in some constituencies.
Heavy rain and a strong security presence meant the streets of the capital Libreville were largely empty during vote counting. Authorities nonetheless repeated calls for calm after rivals of Ben Bongo accused him of trying to use the vote to cover up a dynasty-style transfer of power.
"We began this calmly, so let's end this calmly," interim President Rose Francine Rogombe said, calling on losing candidates to accept the outcome and not to send their supporters into the streets.
No overall projection emerged on Sunday and indications given by state television were based on partial counts from a small number of constituencies. Preliminary official results were expected on Monday or Tuesday.
Investors are banking on a Ben Bongo win but do not expect a reversal in Gabon's pro-investor policies from any of the main candidates. Obame, a stalwart of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) who quit last month, received a boost on Friday when five candidates dropped out to back his campaign.
"There is a mounting groundswell of opposition against frontrunner Ali Ben, which he will have to contend with if he does eventually come to power," IHS Global Insight analyst Kissy Agyeman-Togobo said.
Analysts say any successor will have to cope with dwindling oil reserves that will mean the loss of some of the sector's revenue, which accounts for half of national output.